Passionate about IP! Since June 2003 the IPKat has covered copyright, patent, trade mark, info-tech, privacy and confidentiality issues from a mainly UK and European perspective. The team is Neil J. Wilkof, Annsley Merelle Ward, Darren Smyth, Nicola Searle, Eleonora Rosati, David Brophy, Alberto Bellan and Merpel, with contributions from Mark Schweizer. You're welcome to read, post comments and participate. You can email the Kats here

From October 2016 to March 2017 the team is joined by Guest Kats Rosie Burbidge and Eibhlin Vardy, and by InternKats Verónica Rodríguez Arguijo, Tian Lu and Hayleigh Bosher.

Wednesday, 3 June 2015

Forthcoming events. At the beginning of every month, the Queen Mary Journal of Intellectual Property (QMJIP) produces its list of events for the coming month. June's collation is here. And you can always check out the IPKat's own list of forthcoming attractions, several of which have discounts for IPKat readers, here.

Calling all British Virgin Islanders. Via Katherine Van Deusen Hely (Katpat!) of Caribbean IPthe IPKat learns that, on 1 September 2015, the British Virgin Islands’ new Trade Marks Act 2013 and Trade Marks Rules 2015 will finally come into effect, ending the dual filing system which is current in place for trade marks. Once the new laws go into effect, it will no longer be possible to register marks on the basis of an existing UK registration -- which for many years has been a fast-track to registration for UK mark owners, giving them an advantage over applicants without a current UK registration, who had to apply through the local system. Another change is that it will soon be possible to register both goods and services under the Nice Classification system. We don't yet know what the new fees will look like, but they'll be a good deal cheaper than that dream holiday in the British Virgin Islands that some readers of this blog may have been experiencing ...

Every syllabus needs oneof these from time to time

Summer -- and it's back to school! From 17 to 21 August 2015 the annual IBC Legal Intellectual Property Law Summer School takes place. Now in its 15th year, the Summer School is being held in the thoroughly agreeable setting of Downing College, Cambridge. This year's programme reflects the fact that the usual formula has been given quite a spring-clean and there are lots of changes and innovations. Several new speakers have been drafted in, and the old trade mark arbitration exercise has been replaced by an exercise in negotiating a trade coexistence agreement, specially designed for the occasion by IPKat blogmeister Jeremy. Reassuringly for this year's registrants, one thing has not been changed: that's the social programme which includes a quiz night, gala dinner, punting (don't worry -- punts will be provided), a barbecue and a champagne reception. The organisers are offering a mouthwatering canapé 20% registration fee discount for any IPKat reader who clickshere to register, quoting the VIP KatCode of FKW82564IPKL. See you there?

Around the weblogs. Has Richard Prince been re-purposed, asks Andy Johnstone on the 1709 Blog, reviewing Selena Mooney's attempt to play the appropriation artist at his own game. PatLit reports on the apparent reluctance of The Netherlands to push for its own divisional court of the Unified Patent Court, and hosts a guest post from Thomas A. Lewry (Brooks Kushman PC) on Commil v Cisco and current US thinking on the necessary mind-set for being a secondary patent infringer [Annsley the AmeriKat discussed the same case here]. Mark Anderson, writing on IP Draughts, steps beyond mere IP and looks at bigger issues in "Contract drafting and the limits of textual analysis", here. Finally, on Afro-IP Jeremy Speres delivers his long-promised note on the appeal ruling in an infringement versus expungement tussle over the INFINITY trade mark for tyres (the Supreme Court of Appeal, South Africa's judgment is billed as "a great read").

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